Friday, November 30, 2012

2.7 - Risky Business

The day they get back from Al-Simhara, Isabel's barely out of the taxi and she's already planning her next big trip. She doesn't care much about the downtime and business side of things, she just wants to go! An email arrived asking if she'd be willing to do some archaeology research in Champs Les Sims, a small historical town outside Paris. How exciting!!

"France next on the list for this adventurer!"

Nate's birthday was set the day after their return from Al-Simhara too. Being an ambitious Sim, he decides to spend part of his last day as a kid working on his business savvy skills at the park next to their house. He sets up a baked goods sale table ...

"The way to be a sharp businessman is to always look for opportunity"

But there weren't any baked goods for sale.

Except one ...

Nate, standing inconspicuously behind his empty table, hears her introduce herself to the sim on the other end of the line as "Coco Pie" ...

"Yeah ... I'm here where you told me to be. There's just some kid with a bake sale. I don't see any dude or chick lookin ..."

Annoyed, the pretty dark skinned teenager slaps her cell phone shut and tosses it in her hand bag and paces around nervously, chewing her gum and eyeing Nate while pretending to look bored.

Nate, being ever the opportunist, decides to introduce himself.

"Hail pretty lady in distress - do you need assistance? I am the Term1Nate0r - who are you?"

Coco eyes Nate suspiciously, "Ain't you supposed to be in school right now?" and Nate assures her he's right where he's supposed to be but quips back "Are you where you are supposed to be?"

"Yeah ... well, looks like my 'date' is late." she sighs and leans against the fence, checking her phone texts again before waving it at Nate's table and asking, "Where's all your stuff for sale anyways?"

Nathan, ever the clever monkey, explains that he's simply surveying the foot traffic here for potential sales before actually putting anything out, and making sure there wasn't any potential risk or danger of alien abductions in this area.

Coco just rolls her eyes at him and shakes her head in confusion. "I gotta go kid."

"Wait ...here." Nate hands Coco a small, hand written 'business card' and tells her to call him if she's ever in trouble. He has no idea why he just did that, but Coco looks at him oddly for a minute and laughs. She tucks the card away. "Sure thing sweetie. If I ever need a kid for a boss, you got the job!"

Nate puffs up and tells her its his birthday tomorrow, he'll be 13 and that's plenty old enough to do business.

Coco nearly chokes on her gum. "Honey you ain't got a clue what kinda business I'm in," and saunters off.

It's getting dark, so Nate packs up his table and heads across the sidewalk to their little backyard, adjacent to the park. He stops to take a peek in Isabel's telescope. He can't help it, he has to spy on this strange girl to find out what she's up to!

"Who is this girl and who does she work for??"

He can't hear their conversation from here, but he watches as Coco's 'date' apparently shows up, as well as some woman arguing with her about something.

Nate suddenly realizes this girl isn't as old as he thought she was ... the others are adults, she's only a teen!

The older woman seems to be pressuring Coco about something. At first, Coco is all smiles and agreeable.

Nate wishes he could hear (I'm glad he cannot) !!

Some sort of deal is being made ... Nate's familiar with how this sort of thing goes down ...

But then, the 'dude' as Coco called him, starts to ask her some things, and Coco becomes visibly upset.

Whatever he's asking her to do, it isn't good.

"What?!"

This time, even without being able to hear, Nate can tell she says "NO WAY!"

"Coco don't go there, no way!"

The woman seems to be trying to both coerce Coco while calming the 'dude' down ...

A deal gone wrong?

'Dude' sufficiently rejected, slumps off down the street.

Coco and mysterious woman talk a bit more and head off in the opposite direction, laughing.

Nate has no clue what just transpired there in their tiny park, but he has a good hunch it was illegal, whatever it was. Perhaps St. Claire would end up being quite a profitable place to do business afterall!

(Oh Nate my little dear, not that sort of business!)

Nate stares blankly out the window that night, thinking about life, about his parents, and oddly, about Coco.

The next day is Nate's birthday and Isabel's got big plans. They go shopping for starters. They buy a lot of cool things to decorate the house with, as well as a new wardrobe of 'city clothes' so they feel more at home in their new life.

Isabel's Mom helps them with their shopping, encouraging her daughter to glam up a bit more, especially with an upcoming trip to France, where fashion was everything. Isabel plays along, and picks out some modern fashion for doing business in St. Claire. She also stops by a bakery Emma recommends and picks up a cake for Nate.

"You ready for the next big stage, lil' brother?" ... "Oh yeah" grins Nate. He was born ready.

Sadly, they haven't been in the city long enough to really make any friends yet, so Isabel celebrates Nate's birthday with him alone. She hams it up for him anyways.

Nathan ages into a rather handsome young man. Same swooped over auburn hair, but his eyes have become more piercing blue and his features are strong and serious, with adorable kissable lips.

"Holy crap Nate, you're kinda hot!"

Sorry readers, Sim Goddess Envie is quite smitten with how Nate turned out (completely unassisted I'll add, except to re-add his original hairstyle).You will have to endure another Eye-candy shot.

He definitely got his Mom's side of the family on the big hooked nose and the blue eyes! In fact, I see very little of Simon in there at all other than hair color and kinda squinty shaped eyes.

Isabel squirrels away in her newly set up 'Laboratory' in the basement. This was one of the main things she spent simoleons on in the house instead of furniture and other junk.

Here, she can spend her time poring through old historical records of artifacts and analyzing her relics to see how old they are and how much they will be worth.

Lots of good lighting, cabinetry, shelves for treasure, a computer for research, and chem lab for carbon dating relics!

Along with daily rounds of online chess, Isabel has added a passion for stargazing to her list of 'logic' pursuits that her genius brain requires (as well as the "live your trait" generation roll!)

Astronomy keeps Isabel's brain in top shape and she loves it since she gets to be outdoors too.

Isabel even takes a stab at that weird thing called "dating" ... but the guy her Mom set her up with (one of the junior chefs at her cafe) turns out to be a completely wrong match. So much for blind dates. Scratch that one off the 'been there done that' list ...

That awkward moment where you realize you're both polar opposites.

Next item on the agenda, Isabel follows the address Nate gave her for an arranged meeting with a relic dealer who has checked out clean (no morcucorp involvement) and is willing to do business with Isabel for her treasure trove brought back from Egypt.

Arriving at the strange, out of the way building to a place dubiously called "The Dragon's Lair" - Isabel wonders if Nate set this odd chance encounter purposely or was it fate?

There ... in plain view outside the entrance, is the remains of a creature Isabel has long dreamed of ...

"The object of all my childhood fantasy book obsessions!!"

Ok, small for a dragon, and probably not even real - but Isabel is excited nonetheless!

Twist of Fate has led her to this place ...

And ... to - this guy?

"Errr ... hello?"

Isabel shakes the man's hand as he introduces himself as Monsieur Cyriaque Duval, a distinguished Frenchman and Dealer in fine antiquities and artifacts. This was his building, which also housed a coffee house and gaming shop for fantasy table top roleplaying as well as the more mundane gaming pursuits. It also happened to be a well known Supernatural hangout, if you were interested in the stranger sorts of Sims.

Isabel raised an eyebrow and the scientist kicked in. "Do you realize you are a vivid shade of yellow Monsieur Duval? ... And that woman back there looks like a blueberry!"

Cyriaque kept a deadpan straight face. "Why yes, in fact, I do. Slight mishap with jelly beans. Very ... special jelly beans. Give me a moment to regain my normal appearance, my office is on the top floor, I will meet you there in 15 minutes."

Isabel decides to get a snack from the coffee shop, which is decorated in very elegant Euro-Sim fashion. The barista introduces herself as "Maddie" and seems fairly normal in every way. No Supernaturals hanging about.

Delish!

She then wanders her way up to the third floor, passing by chess and dominoes gaming rooms, what appears to be an alchemist shop, and an arcade.

In a tiny attic room hardly big enough to be an 'office' at all, Monsieur Duval has many strange oddities on display. He arrives just ahead of Isabel and heads to his register to begin cataloging her file folder of relics.

"Please, do come in M'lady - you are welcome here!" (Isabel loves the formalities he gives)

"Yes, yes, I understand your hesitancy. You have been rubbing shoulders with the most despicable low-lifes in the underworld of the relic black market. And I am fully aware who your employers are. I am not concerned with that at this time. Your clever little brother may have done a thorough background check on me, but I assure you I have done the same for you."

Isabel is slightly taken aback by Cyriaque's abrupt and lengthy introduction speech.

Isabel hopes Nate's right about this guy ...

She laughs nervously, and explains that this is all very new to her and that she was very surprised by how everything went down in Egypt. She doesn't really understand it all yet, but she believes in her brother's recommendation and hopes they can do good business together.

Cyriaque again reassures her that he has no desire to do business with large corporate entities and is a proud small business owner who has contacts all over the world. His clients are very sophisticated and have selective tastes in expensive artifacts for their private collections. He even gives her a personal reference for someone in Champs Les Sims, when she tells him she is going there next.

"My business clients prefer very discreet purchasing, far from prying eyes. We remain on the fringe of so-called 'big time' relic thievery such as Morcucorp deals in." His lips purse in a distasteful sneer.

Isabel decides she can trust this man, despite his odd way of speaking and uptight mannerisms. The list is reviewed, and Cyriaque decides which relics he wishes to purchase. Isabel promises to deliver them all within the week, as she is still analyzing, cleaning and reconstructing some in her lab.

~~~~~

While Isabel spends days holed up in her laboratory, Nate is growing restless as a newly hatched teenager.

He decides to follow Isabel to the Dragon's Lair to make sure her meeting goes smoothly.

While checking on some of his auction listings, and information from Cyriaque, a familiar voice speaks up nearby ... "Hey sugar, don't I know you?"

** "Then there she was ... like Disco Lemonade - yeah there she was ..." **

It's Coco. She seems as surprised to see Nate as he is to see her. He looks a lot different (older) to her, but suddenly he feels a lot different about her ...

Ooo La la ...

(Cue Music)

(Coco's arrival into the story was inspired entirely by an old favorite of mine by Marcy Playground)

Coco slides into the empty barstool next to Nate and props a boot up on his leg, grinning at him slyly.

"Hey you said if I ever needed help to ask. Well seein' as you're some kinda computer geek, I could really use your help gettin' into a special club tonight. Wanna help a girl out?"

Nate, always up to a challenge, asks what she has in mind. Seems all she wants is on the VIP list to the Black Box, a private club downtown. Easy enough.

"You are one cool cat Term1Nate0r" Coco laughs and pours herself a drink.

Hacking is a relatively recent hobby for Nate, having just reached the ability to do so. This is good practice.

Adding Coco's name (and his own too) to the venue VIP list was a cinch. Outside as they're leaving, Coco stops to ask Nate about Isabel.

I apologize if this chapter got a little long, but I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Isabel and Nathan are just getting so much fun to think up new story lines about!

I was going to call this chapter "Sex and Candy" but decided not to be that blunt. Besides, it was too good to resist another 80's movie favorite title anyways! (Back when Tom was so young and adorable!)

Of special note, the scene with Coco's introduction was entirely by chance! I'm absolutely thrilled at how the immigration population of St. Claire is turning out. I turned on Twallan's "mix sims from Bin for immigration" function and its working out amazingly well. Almost ALL of the new residents moving into the city are really cool looking. Coco's name is really Coco (I added the Pie to it) and she's completely randomly generated. I instantly knew I wanted to use her in my story and started snapping pics at the park with Nate when the other two sims showed up and started arguing with her. It was too good to pass up the opportunity to make her a 'working girl' - and now Nate's getting wrapped up with her and has no idea!

Also, there's been some comments that some of you are worried about Nate and Isabel getting caught by Morcucorp. They are, at this point, only a minor 'fringe' element in the outer edges of what Morcucorp is about. Their Dad may have had more information of importance, and yes there is some concern if the fire was in fact a set up, but at this point in the story I have no plans to send Isabel or Nate on a Morcucorp retaliation trip. Neither of them is really built for that sort of super-hero action (as Calisim's Farrell Brannon is!). That doesn't rule out the possibility of a future run-in with them however!

Well, again, not gonna spoil the outcome, but she's not employed by Morcucorp, does that help ease your mind? haha! Thanks Elly, they are both so different from one another. I was actually very shocked by Nate's looks. I have been so wrapped up with Isabel's story as the heir that I actually did not go into CAS and peek at his looks, I assumed he'd end up with the weaselly looking pointed face like Simon, but he favors the males in Sarah's family very much and most of them were quite handsome with very blue eyes. Yay!

Thanks mislaheela - have tried to channel some of your creativity too btw. And yes, that's the heartbreaker LTW in that thought bubble. I thought that was a rather fitting ending to the chapter to let people realize just how much trouble she is, even aside from her profession haha.

With a father like Simon, I certainly didn't expect you to get -both- kids looking good. Nate is a hottie! I hope his business smarts help him figure out Coco's game before she takes him (and Isabel) for all they've got!

I'm not gonna lie, I had to do some serious plastic surgery work on Isabel to get her face looking more normal. She ended up getting some unfortunately small eyes and a very pinched nose with no bridge. :( The custom slider thing on Simon ended up affecting her but apparently not Nate at all, he is completely natural. Thank goodness his mama had such strong genes.

Nate's so young, he has no idea what kind of business trouble Coco is just yet. He's naive and a little over confident because of his computer whiz trait and the fact he has not had a Mom and Dad figure for awhile now. Isabel is too permissive with him. Look out St. Claire, Nate's on the loose.

Thanks Hayley! I appreciated all your comments on the previous chapters and that you caught up on the adventures of my Twist siblings after their parents tragic death. Things are going very well for them now and after that big tomb raiding trip, they should be comfortably well off in their new city home.

Thanks for the compliment on the merchant shop. I meant to stick some shots of the entire building in as I custom designed it myself, but ran out of space considering how long the chapter was already getting.

I love that hairstyle too. It's one of the few I have that goes from toddler all the way up through the ages and is so cute and natural looking. There's just not enough good hairstyles for boys out there.

The thing I love about Coco is she's a computer generated mix of a couple sims I had saved in my bin using twallan's genetic mixer for immigration. I absolutely adore that function and highly recommend it. It doesn't mix any of the bizarre sims you have or at least, does not use weird slider settings. Her looks and personality were just too good to pass up when I saw her wander into the playground. :)